'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*.

Ode to the New Year'Twas the month after Christmas and all through the houseNothing would fit me, not even a blouse;The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd tasteAt the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber). I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared -The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheeseAnd the way I'd never said, 'No thank you, please.'

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirtAnd prepared once again to do battle with dirt;I said to myself, as I only can,'You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!'

So - away with the last of the sour cream dip,Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip;Every last bit of food that I like must be banished'Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie - not even a lick,I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick;I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie - I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore, But isn't that what January is for? Unable to giggle, no longer a riot... Happy New Year to all, and to all a good diet!

Happy New Year to my dear friends at Amy's Place!

The annual NYE outing at Severance Hall was its anticippated wonderful event!! If you ever get an opportunity to see The Three Redneck Tenors please do so - they are outstanding! They performed along with the Pops for about half the concert. I missed seeing my My good friend Paul Ferguson trombonist & CIM prof with group who did not perform as last weekend he broke his collarbone in Aspen skiing

Ran into a few people I knew & met some nice new folks. I decided to WRAP the cast which after 10 weeks is tattered, dirty & ugly. Found one of the fuzzy long scarfs that worked

Below are names of some of our FReepers' loved ones who are serving our country. If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to JustAmy,The Mayor or Billie and We will add their name to this list.

As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nations leaders, and military personnel, and their families and friends. May God hold them close to His heart.

My daughter called first thing this morning - and said she was fixing pizza for dinner today. Then, she called back, and said the family was demanding that she follow "TRADITION", after a concensus was taken. She has called me twice from the grocery store since, wanting to make sure she gets the right stuff. LOL!

I told her to get the frozen black-eyed peas, as they are good simmered all afternoon - with a little onion, celery, chopped ham (or ham hocks) and a bay leaf or two.

Tradition - it should be carried on for generations - don'cha think? (After all, she had it every New Year's Day growing up, as did I and my father before me.) And, even tho we aren't Jewish, I love this music:

Thank you, meg - you’re always one of the first to respond to a new opening, as well as one of the first to pretty up the new day! I adore these old-fashioned postcards and enjoy seeing your pretty frames around those you post. :)

For those of you whove never had them, they taste like dirt smells. :)

LOL! Do NOT!

If I didn't already like blackeyed peas, you can bet I wouldn't be dying to try them for New Years after reading that - OR the "history of blackeyed peas in yorkie's post!!" LOL!

BUT....I don't buy fresh ones that have to be shelled - too much trouble for the lazy cook. :) Frozen Foods section of supermarkets have great packages of them with snaps, and they are far better than the dried peas. I add a can of petite diced tomatoes, along with bite-size pieces of bacon (uncooked) and a little bit of bacon 'grease', salt, pepper, chopped onion and cayenne pepper.

That is Precious, Billie, and Made Tears Come to my Eyes, it's So Sweet!

On the Subject of Black-Eyed Peas, my Dear Momma Grows Peas in a Garden, then Harvests them and Freezes them for Meals throughout the Year, and they are So Good! The Way you Prepare them Sounds Like they would be Wonderful, too! I Wish I was a Better Cook; I could Burn Water, Lol.

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